SEMI Members and other Leading High-Tech Executives Urge President Obama and Congress to Enact High-Skilled Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C. —
March 15, 2013 —
SEMI, and other leading innovation advocacy organizations, with more than 100 executives
from the technology sector, including SEMI member companies, called on
President Obama and Congress to approve legislation this year to reform
America’s high-skilled immigration system.
The executives wrote to the President and Congressional leadership to
call for reforms to enable a more open and flexible U.S. immigration system to
embrace highly-skilled workers. The letter was organized by TechNet. SEMI
member company executives who signed the letter include Mike Splinter, CEO of Applied Materials; Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel; and Kirk Gregg, EVP and CAO ofCorning.

Fifteen of the CEOs and senior-level industry
executives met with President Obama yesterday to talk about cybersecurity,
taxes and immigration reform. The executives included: Safra
Catz, president and COO of Oracle; John
Chambers, CEO and chairman of Cisco; Weili
Dai, co-founder of Marvell Technology Group; Ajit Manocha,
CEO of GlobalFoundries; Ned
Brody, CEO of AOL Networks;Mary Humiston, SVP of global HR atApplied Materials; Christopher Goode, VP of global corporate
affairs and public policy at EMC;Kirk
Gregg, EVP and CAO ofCorning; Brad Brubaker, SVP, general counsel and
corporate secretary of SAP
America; and Gordon Coburn, president of Cognizant.

The
following is the text of the letter from leading technology executives:

“One of the biggest
economic challenges facing our nation is the need for more qualified,
highly-skilled professionals, domestic and foreign, who can create jobs and
immediately contribute to and improve our economy. As leaders of technology
companies from around the country, we want to thank you for your sincere
efforts in addressing high skilled immigration and we urge that you and your
colleagues enact reform legislation this year.

“As you know, the
United States has a long history of welcoming talented, hard- working people to
our shores. Immigrant entrepreneurs have gone on to found thousands of
companies with household names like eBay, Google, PayPal and Yahoo! to name
just a few. These companies provide jobs, drive economic growth and generate
tax revenue at all levels of government.

“Yet because our
current immigration system is outdated and inefficient, many high- skilled
immigrants who want to stay in America are forced to leave because they are
unable to obtain permanent visas. Some do not bother to come in the first
place. This is often due to visa shortages, long waits for green cards, and
lack of mobility. We believe that numerical levels and categories for
high-skilled nonimmigrant and immigrant visas should be responsive to market
needs and, where appropriate, include mechanisms to fluctuate based on
objective standards. In addition, spouses and children should not be counted
against the cap of high-skilled immigrant visas. There should not be a marriage
or family penalty.

“According to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are tens of thousands of unfilled jobs
requiring highly skilled individuals. Four high-tech companies alone – IBM,
Intel, Microsoft and Oracle – have combined 10,000 openings in the United
States. Each one of these jobs has the potential to create many others,
directly and indirectly. Bipartisan legislation currently introduced in the
Senate, such as The Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, and the Start-Up Visa
Act, will encourage innovation here in the U.S. by allowing American companies
and entrepreneurs to have access to the talented workers they need while
simultaneously investing in STEM education here in the U.S. We know what it
will take to keep America in a position of global leadership. We know that when
America is leading, our economic growth follows to the benefit of our nation’s
workforce.

“We call on you to
address the need for more qualified, highly-skilled professionals, domestic and
foreign, and to enact immigration reform this year. We look forward to working
with you and your colleagues in a bipartisan way as we move forward in our
common interest.”